ETRUSCANS

The terra-cotta coffin from the 5th century BC is from Caere. --SCALA--Art Resource

Long before the days of Rome's greatness, Italy was the home of a people far advanced in civilization--the Etruscans,
or Tyrrhenians. These people rose to prosperity and power, then almost vanished from recorded history, leaving
unsolved many questions about their origin and culture.
Scholars think that the Etruscans were a seafaring people from Asia Minor. As early as 1000 BC they were living
in Italy in an area that was roughly equivalent to modern Tuscany, from the Tiber River north almost to the Arno
River. Later their rule embraced a large part of western Italy, including Rome. When the Tarquin Dynasty was expelled
from Rome about 500 BC, Lars Porsena, king of Etruria and Clusium, sought to reestablish his influence over Rome.
The Etruscans already controlled the commerce of the Tyrrhenian Sea on their western border. After losing control
of Rome, they strengthened their naval power through an alliance with Carthage against Greece. In 474 BC their
fleet was destroyed by the Greeks of Syracuse. From that time their power rapidly declined. The Gauls overran the
country from the north, and the Etruscans' strong southern fortress of Veii fell to Rome after a ten-year seige
(396 BC). The Etruscans were absorbed by the Romans, who adopted many of their advanced arts, their customs, and
their institutions.

The fresco of musicians is in the Tomb of the Leopards, Tarquinia, Italy. --SCALA--Art Resource

Because little Etruscan literature remains and the language of inscriptions on their monuments has been only partially
deciphered, scholars have gained most of their knowledge of the Etruscans from studying the remains of their city
walls, houses, monuments, and tombs. Weapons and other implements, exquisite jewelry, coins, statues of stone,
bronze, and terra-cotta, and black pottery (called bucchero) have been found. Grecian and Oriental influences are
seen in this art.